Summary

The author describes their journey to obtain a custom-tailored t-shirt kurta in Tatanagar, India, due to the lack of suitable sizes in ready-made stores.

Abstract

The article details the author's experience in finding a comfortable, knee-length t-shirt kurta that accommodates their pear-shaped body. After failing to find a suitable garment in retail stores, the author turns to a school uniform shop to purchase cloth and then to a local tailor to create the custom garment. The process involves selecting fabric, getting it weighed at a nearby grocery shop, and finally, having it tailored for a total cost of $4.65. The author emphasizes the comfort and personalization of the final product, which is uncommon in a market dominated by readymade clothing and traditional attire.

Opinions

The author expresses dissatisfaction with the limited size options available in the readymade clothing market.
They prefer tailored clothing over readymade options for better fit and comfort.
The author mixes Indian and Western clothing styles, which may not always align with traditional fashion norms in India.
They highlight the embarrassment of the uniform shop owner when photographed, indicating a cultural sensitivity to such actions.
The author finds the process of getting cloth weighed at a grocery shop to be a novel experience, likening it to a fun Math quiz.
They appreciate the craftsmanship of local tailors and the ability to customize clothing to personal preferences and body shape.
The author values comfort over adherence to traditional nightwear in India, choosing to wear the tailored kurta at night instead of a nightgown.

FASHION, ECONOMY, SIZE AGGRESSION IN READYMADE STORES AND A SOLUTION

How To Get a T-Shirt Kurta Tailored for $4.65 in Tatanagar, India

What I did when the retail store didn’t carry my size

School uniform shop in Golmuri, Tatanagar, India last week. Schools are to reopen on 15 October and the kids need their uniforms.

I feel very distressed in the readymade market where clothes either hang or hug, or both. Tailoring solves the problems beautifully and comfortably.

I wanted a knee-length t-shirt. I feel T-shirts stop just where they should start to deliver. I need t-shirts because they’re soft and comfortable, unlike formal kameezes like this blue one below.

Me grating coconut, and me in my dental clinic. Yep, pear shape, hidden more or less by smart tailoring of salwar trousers with long kameezes.

I do it wrong , you know. I mix Indian and Western clothes, like this. If I were to turn around in this pic of me in the white top and green salwar trousers, I would not look good.

Me in a short top with a salwar intended to be worn with a longer top. My neighbors are in traditional sarees on a festive day they are celebrating.

No fun in shopping for my “fat” hips

Unfortunately I was unable to find a long t-shirt that matches my pear shape in the Indian retail market.

Ready-made store with a lack of long t-shirts for women of pear shapes, where I went yesterday. One of four.

The Solution is Tailored

So I landed up at the school uniform shop where school uniforms are tailored, and I bought cloth for a long t-shirt.

Uniform shop owner sells me cloth, after cutting it. He does not usually sell cloth, so he owns no weighing machine, and I need to go next door to get the cloth weighed.

Weighing the cloth

After getting 0.9 m cloth cut in two colors, I had to go to a nearby ration shop to get it weighed. The uniform shop usually sells tailored clothes and not the cloth. When they sell cloth, knitted fabric like my t-shirt cloth is sold by weight.

Grocery shop next to the school uniform shop where my cloth wad weighed. The school uniform shop owner was embarrassed I took a photograph, he said he didn’t need proof of weight! The photo was for this article.

The cloth cost me ₹382, that’s $5.21. The rate is is ₹500 per kilogram. Sounds like a fun Math quiz.

Cloth of. 1.8 meters is sold at ₹500 per kilogram, if the customer paid ₹382, how much does it cost per meter?

Mattress, quilt and pillow tailors wait for customers

The correct tailor is key

I walk out and on the street, three tailors are sitting next to their sewing machines waiting for customers. These guys are mattress makers. I need a women’s tailor.

Ladies’ tailor. The colored loops in the front display are lengths of decorative ribbon used to decorate neck and arm outlines of clothes, as a border. They are called gota.

Off goes the cloth to the ladies’ tailor, who makes blouses and salwar kameezes, and can turn sheets of sarees into flowing gowns. She will charge ₹300, $4.09 for the job of tailoring two long soft kurtas. Add the cost of the cloth, and they work out to $4.65 each.

The final result. I picked this pattern, what would you have done if you started with cloth and not a garment?

They are so comfortable, I plan to wear the green or the blue, every night.

Final photo after tailoring. The tailor took a week. The yellow salwar trousers and dupatta stole are a given in India. The article is about the kurta, the green top, only.

My t-shirt material kurta, tailored to my pear shape. Brazil colors, I know, but nobody else does. Cricket is big in India, not football!

Note: Getting cloth tailored is very common in India. What is uncommon is getting t-shirt cloth tailored as a kurta.

Usually women wear nightgowns at night in India, after wearing sarees or salwar kameez dupatta all day.

I am too lazy to step out of both upper and lower garments. I change just the upper garment, pulling on a t-shirt at night.

In order to continue doing so, I have gone to extreme lengths to get the length I want, even by India standards. A retailer, a uniform wholesaler and a tailor, all within 24 hours.